HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has paid over £509,000 ($650,000, €596,000) to whistleblowers in the 2022/2023 financial year, according to research by international law firm RPC.

The amount of money being paid to individuals providing evidence about tax fraud has increased by £14,000 from 2021/22 and up 75% from five years ago.

https://international-adviser.com/hmrc-paid-over-500000-to-whistleblowers-last-year/

Fraud is one of the most ancient forms of crime in history.

According to the aptly named Fraud.com, there are references to fraud as early as 300 BC when two bad actors named Hegestratos and Zenosthemis were caught for insurance fraud involving their ship and its cargo. While this might have been one of the first instances, it was certainly not the last.

https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2024/01/17/younger-generations-more-likely-to-fall-victim-to-financial-fraud/

As technology is growing, the crypto industry is extending its roots in the financial sector. The new year, 2024 comes with 3 big cryptocurrency events for which every crypto fan is eagerly staying. In the year 2023, the industry eyeballed many small and major events that had both favorable and adverse influences.

https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2024/01/21/which-3-big-cryptocurrency-events-will-seek-attention-in-2024/

Pensioners are being urged to be vigilant after a spate of courier frauds in the east and south of the UK, including one case where a victim lost £5.3 million.

Reports to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, have shown that members of the public have been contacted by criminals purporting to be either from the police or from their bank, claiming that the victim’s account has been taken over by fraudsters.

https://www.professionaljeweller.com/courier-fraud-gold-bullion-jewellery/

Last year I was the victim of a banking scam. For a while, it appeared that I had lost everything, but luckily the perpetrator was so eerily accomplished at mirroring the bank’s technology and phone numbers that they agreed I wasn’t at fault and the money was refunded to me.

Becky Holmes, a popular presence on Twitter, has written a book about a different sort of fraud, one much more personally invasive and traumatic than the kind I experienced. She writes about romantic fraud, in which a perpetrator assumes a false identity – in more outlandish frauds, sometimes posing as a celebrity (there’s more than one Keanu Reeves out there) – to woo another person online, eventually using the relationship to extort money and gifts.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/revealing-revolting-look-world-online-110000720.html

Banks and financial services firms are rushing to invest in new technology to combat rising levels of fraud, according to a survey, as artificial intelligence unlocks new ways to create scams.

The survey, by regtech firm Complyadvantage, found that 86 per cent of financial compliance chiefs were investing in new technology, including AI, to help fight fraud, with two-thirds (66 per cent) flagging AI-powered scams as a growing threat.

https://www.cityam.com/banks-rush-to-invest-in-new-tech-to-combat-rise-in-ai-driven-fraud/

The Lettings Hub, the referencing and PropTech provider, has announced that it will host a free-to-register webinar this week to shed light on the rise of attempted tenancy fraud in the UK.

Agents are being warned that as rental costs continue to rise, some tenants may find themselves in a challenging predicament, leading some to resort to desperate measures, including falsifying information to secure a tenancy.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/do-you-know-how-to-spot-tenancy-fraud/

Plans for a new government information campaign to tackle the explosion in online fraud have sparked divisions among major banks over concerns about its cost and potentially conflicting public messages.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/government-fraud-campaign-plan-sparks-133600274.html/

The head of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said he is ready to put the agency’s new powers to use to help investigate and prosecute fraudsters.

The prosecutors new investigative powers, which come into force today, allow the agency to collect information and evidence before an investigation is opened.

https://www.cityam.com/sfo-chief-were-ready-to-use-our-new-powers-to-clamp-down-on-fraud/

UK consumers lost £75mn to financial scams on social media in one year alone, with a total of 3,597 reports to the police about investment fraud.

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau by comparison site Good Money Guide, Instagram was mentioned in more than half of cases, followed by Facebook with 1,193 reports.

https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2024/01/11/savers-lose-75mn-a-year-to-financial-scams-on-social-media/